Fight Hunger In Bury St Edmunds This Christmas​

Posted by Alex Mayer on 12th December 2018

Bury St Edmunds residents were urged to make sure that no child goes hungry this festive season. As shoppers stock up on turkeys, sprouts and stuffing, Suffolk’s Euro MP Alex Mayer launched a special seasonal community food drive at ASDA

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Ms Mayer launched the store’s ‘Fight Hunger’ campaign by unveiling a new festive sign at the shop’s food collection point which will be transformed into a winter-wonderland with tinsel, baubles and snowflakes.​
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Donations that customers make will be given to Storehouse, a local foodbank, which gives away bags of food, toiletries and nappies through agencies in Bury St Edmunds to people who can’t provide enough food for their families.

Now with the Christmas school holidays approaching, and pupils not at school for their lunchtime meal, demand is expected to rise again. Figures show a third of all food distributed by foodbanks throughout the year goes to children.​
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Michelle Frost, ASDA’s Community Champion explained how customers making a food donation are asked to ensure it is non-perishable and has a long use by date. Stocks are especially low on powdered milk, tinned meat and biscuits, so donations of these items are especially welcome.

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Alex Mayer MEP said: “Thank you to everyone donating food today. For some families just putting food on the table is a struggle. But the truth is that anyone can suddenly find themselves going hungry, when something unexpected happened, an illness, redundancy or the boiler breaking, and they are thrown into crisis.​
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“I’m very pleased to be launching this great initiative in Bury – one that has a real effect on the local community. The reality is, though, that the fifth biggest economy in the world should not be relying so heavily on food banks as we do.​”
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Michelle Frost, ASDA’s Community Champion said: “It’s great to have Alex Mayer MEP here to launch our ‘Fight Hunger’ campaign locally here in Bury in the run up to Christmas.​
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“Our efforts rely on the kindness and generosity of our customers and we appreciate Alex’s support today.”​